ANDERSON, S.C. – After taking an early 6-2 lead in the first quarter, the Anderson University (15-2) women's lacrosse team was able to hold off a late game surge by Lincoln Memorial (6-11) and pick up a 17-15 win over the visiting Railsplitters in the South Atlantic Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday, April 20.
Sophomore Alicia Cannon (Tarzana, Calif.) was able to tally six goals and an assist in the contest, eclipsing the 100 point mark on the season. Sophomore Sophia Santagata (North Port, Fla.) turned in five goals for the Trojans in the contest while freshman Ava Skeffington (Charlotte, N.C.) notched four goals. Freshman Rayne Dobson (Houston, Texas) rounded out the scoring with a pair of goals. Sophomore Ava Drath (Hudsonville, Mich.) picked up her 14th win of the year, recording five saves while junior Kora Turner (Myakka City, Fla.) finished out the contest to help secure the win with a pair of saves as well.
After the Railsplitters scored the first goal of the game, Anderson responded with five straight goals, two of which came on extra-man opportunities, to open up their 5-1 advantage. Over the final five minutes of action in the opening period, the two teams traded goals giving the Trojans the 6-2 advantage, with Skeffington recording an opening period hat trick. The second quarter of action saw Lincoln Memorial outscore the Black and Gold by a slight 5-4 margin as Cannon and Santagata each posted a pair of goals in the period to keep the Troajans ahead 10-7 at the break.
The third quarter was all Railsplitters as they were able to close their deficit to just one goal at the end of the 45-minute mark in the contest, outscoring the Trojans 5-3 in the period, with the score at 13-12. Anderson kept consistent throughout the contest, turning in four more goals in the fourth quarter to stave off the late push from the Railsplitters, wrapping up the 17-15 win to move on in the SAC Tournament.
The Trojans will look to avenge their lone conference loss of the year as they travel to Gaffney, S.C. to take on Limestone in the SAC Semifinals on Wednesday, April 24 at 6:00 p.m.
